So, for those that do not know me well you probably didn’t know (or maybe you did) that I work like 80 hours a week. I am what the world likes to call a workaholic. Much to the dismay of Jason, may partner, who by the way is a what I like an “advanced workaholic” meaning he works much smarter than I do. He can get his weekly task list done and still have three days leftover to do whatever he wants to. I have not figured out how to do that, largely because I am unorganized. If it were not for the last minute, I wouldn’t get anything done. I think he has every bit of work to do, but seems to organize it much better thus getting it done faster. Anyway, I digress; Even though I am a workaholic I understand the need for an unwinding time; a stress-free segment of my week. It is my Sabbath. Sunday is that time. Work starts at 8am for the staff and Sunday is the one day I do not work with them until 10-11am. I like to have my woo-saw moment before I see all the clients, I feel it makes for a better interaction. I get up and I leave the house and usually go to Starbucks, there is one about two blocks away (actually there are 2 within a few blocks), its one of the reasons we moved into our house (sad?).
On my two hour hiatus from the world, I get to read, or surf the web or just sit with this blank look on my face. I’m pretty sure some folks are a little weirded out by the blank two-hour stare. My favorite thing to do is read novels, usually John Grisham novels. I think he is brilliant and the books are typically fast moving, which is my style.
Today on the other hand, I brought my computer because I wanted to answer a thought I have had for some time. We started Evolve as a hobby ( I think even a year ago my hobby didn’t even have a name). We started from our house and in the first year it has exploded to what it is today. At the time I worked at a steakhouse and was pretty ok with my job (pay was a little low for J and I, but it worked fine.) We started with the goal of just being able to cook for a few people, to help them see that there is a much better way to eat than what they currently were. Our first clients all came to us with one goal in mind, to lose some weight. It was this goal that made the Paleo diet so attractive to us and our small client lists. Most of the clients in the beginning did not know what the Paleo diet even was. But what they did know is that they were losing weight with the food. It was exciting and fascinating all at the same time. I knew I did really well on it, but it was cool to see before our eyes everyone else’s success.
So I thought this Paleo thing is amazing. We abruptly started demonizing all grains, pulling the reigns on corn and potatoes, instituted prohibition again, and turned up our nose at all things dairy (dairy for good reason, I became lactose intolerant.) We have operated like this, albeit with limited success for a year. The company has grown, we have gotten more followers and everyone seems happy.
*side note, some van just parked in the handicap spot outside of Starbucks, and a woman leaped forth. Pet peeve of mine, if you are not handicapped, don’t park there**
But what if food is more than nutritional, what if food is emotional or communal? What if it is MORE important who we have food with or the mental state at which time we eat than the ACTUAL food we eat. Does it do any good to eat nutritious food if we are in a stressed state? It is better to eat lower nutritious food in a calmer, stress free state or higher nutritious food in frazzled, workaholic, see-how-fast-we-can-live-life state?
The reason this line of questions pops up in this. Jason is a much less stressed person than I am (or if he isn’t, he controls it better.) But he doesn’t gain any weight by eating less than stellar food. Where if I eat less than Paleo, I balloon up like an “I love you” balloon at Valentines Day. We have always blamed it on metabolism, but that may not be true. Because when he has had boards or exams, this will be the only time he gains.
I just read a book by Jim Collins and he said this about questions. Don’t try to come up with all the right answers, just ask the right questions. What if food is is more about our surroundings and less about the nutrition content? Is it better to eat good or get all the required sleep. Should I stay up all night and make my food for all week or go to sleep and grab a Chipotle burrito? Food for thought…
